The invention relates generally to the field of archery bow mounts for scopes and reflex sights, specifically those mounts with range adjustment incorporating converging lines of sight. Currently, the market favors an arrangement that utilizes a front sight with three horizontal pins staked vertically and a rear peep sight mounted on the bow shooting string. The shooting string is the entirety of the string in a regular style bow or, on a compound style bow, the specific portion of the string from cam to cam or cam to limb that propels the arrow. Proper stance and consistent anchor point are a crucial part of the equation. The anchor point is a specific point to which the nock of the arrow is drawn prior to release. The archer may use as reference a finger to the corner of the mouth, a bow string to the tip of the nose, a part of the hand to a part of the jaw or any other suitable feature to the point. In said arrangement, the front sight horizontal pins provide for range and are adjustable for windage. The anchor point provides for a reference point to where to vertically mount the peep sight on the bow shooting string and when the bow is drawn, to place automatically the peep hole in line with the archer's eye. The anchor point is to a bow what the stock is to a shotgun. This triangular combination provides for quick acquisition of the line of sight in relation to the target, which is critical for hunting. It should be noted that one strong point of this design is being specific to each individual archer. After the initial set-up, an archer could feasibly grasp his bow, take a proper stance, close the eyes, draw the bow to the anchor point and, upon opening the eyes, find the aiming eye looking right through the peep hole and seeing the front sight aligned within the orifice of the peep sight. The three pin front sight represents three different ranges, close, medium, and long. With an average arrow trajectory of 14 feet at 70 yards, said three pins leave large amounts of yardage uncovered. Thus, after estimating the distance to the target, the archer must choose a corresponding pin and then decide whether to hold dead on, above, or below said pin and, if that is the case, by how much. More pins will only lead to confusion due to the space available. Fourteen feet at 70 yards represents about 2 inches at the location of the front sight. Many pins are required to cover a reasonable and significant number of range points. Most of these pins will be crammed within the very last portion of the available 2 inches due to the fact that most of the 14 feet trajectory will be at the end of said trajectory.
Due to the proximity to the eye, the rear peep sight blocks much needed light under most common hunting situations and it obscures a significant portion of the target. The shooting bow string twists and stretches as it settles and the peep sight, being attached to it, rotates and moves vertically out of alignment. Additionally, the peep sight needs to be replaced every time the string is replaced and, therefore, the time consuming task of zero-in must also be performed.
Zero or low magnification long eye relief scopes and reflex sights have significant potential in the field of archery but none of the current designs have met with market approval. With the proper mount, their potential revolves around a) eliminating the limiting front sight, b) eliminating the troublesome rear peep sight, c) eliminating the need for aligning the target with the front and rear sights while attempting to focus the aiming eye in one, and d) offering the option of magnification.
A mount that utilizes zero or low magnification long eye relief scopes and reflex sights potential must address the most important limitation of these sights. A scope has an extremely narrow line of sight due to their small exit pupil and a mount that utilizes said sights must provide for user-friendly means to minimize this burden. Said mount must also address the fact that it is attempting to replace, for all practical purposes, a custom made setup. Failing to provide for the retention of anchor point is failing to address the custom made relationship of peep sight to eye.
State of the art adjustable range mounts for scopes fail to provide overall significant improvement over the three pin and peep sight arrangement. Said mounts generally fall short in one or more features that said arrangement delivers. A scope mount should provide at least the following features in order to compete and succeed in the market place: 1) Continuous eye alignment regardless of elevation setting or draw length. The draw length is the distance, in inches, from the top back side of the bow handle to the nock of the arrow when the arrow is held within a fully drawn bow. These combined elements are missing in all current scope mount designs. This is crucial to the performance of the mount and, as such, for market acceptance. Failure to provide continuous eye alignment necessitates a change of anchor point for any given elevation setting. Changing anchor point makes target and reticle acquisition through the scope very difficult due to the scope's narrow field of view. 2) An adjustment for windage. The internal windage adjustment provided by scopes does not have sufficient range to account for anomalies found in most mounting surfaces of bows. 3) A graduated scale large enough to allow for a large number of easily discernable graduations covering all distances within a useful range. 4) Be free from interference from any part of the bow. 5) Be relatively compact. 6) Be user friendly. 7) Be relatively simple.
Patents have been issued for scope mounts, but they all fall short of the above criteria. In U.S. Pat. No. 4,294,017 issued to Brynes et al., the alignment with archer's eye throughout elevation adjustment is achieved at only one specific draw length as determined by the curvature of the solid track. Archer's with other draw length must adjust anchor point to the specific elevation setting. Additionally, it does not provide for windage adjustment and the location of the mount behind the bow may interfere with some state of the art compound bow parts, specifically the string cable bar. In a compound bow, the cable bar maintains the non-shooting portion of the string to one side of the arrow shaft. The cable bar normally is positioned on the back side of the bow and in the proximity of the arrow window. In U.S. Pat. No. 4,961,265 issued to Roberts, the mount does not maintain eye alignment throughout the elevation adjustment and requires that the archer change anchor point significantly as elevation is adjusted. It also does not provide for windage adjustment. In U.S. Pat. No. 5,092,053 issued to Roberts, alignment with the archer's eye throughout elevation changes is achieved at only one specific draw length as determined by the curvature designed into the solid track, therefore, archers with different draw lengths must change anchor point every time elevation settings change. The mounts disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,644,297 issued to Brown and in U.S. Pat. No. 6,895,676 issued to Mendyk also fail to meet all of the above criteria.
Patents have also been issued for open sight mounts, but they too all fall short of the above criteria. In U.S. Pat. No. 2,542,501 issued to Fredrickson, the mount for open sights offers converging lines of sight at only one specific draw length due to the hard curved track and modification of bow is not practical. In U.S. Pat. No. 4,497,116 issued Hawkins, the mount is designed for open front and rear sights and offers converging lines of sight, however, it does not provide for draw length adjustment or windage adjustment. It is also complex and may interfere with parts of current bow technologies. In U.S. Pat. No. 7,584,543 issued to Boyd, the mount is for front and rear sights. It is not user friendly since it will be most difficult for the archer to adjust for draw length while attempting to judge the speed differential between the front and rear sight while holding the bow with proper stance at draw length without the steadying benefit of drawing the bow. Additionally, the second hand is required to operate the mount. Finally, the placement of the rear sight behind the bow may interfere with the string cable bar of most state of the art compound bows.
The embodiment or embodiments described herein may solve these shortcomings as well as others by proposing a novel adjustable scope sight mount device that provides converging lines of sight.